How No.1 Bra London helps women look and feel beautiful
When Jeanette Misseldine and her husband launched No. 1 Bra London they wanted to redesign the bra - and make it better fitting and more comfortable.
After 30 years of designing lingerie for some of the world’s biggest brands, there’s little that Jeanette Misseldine doesn’t know about bras – or women’s bodies.
And having spent hours fitting and measuring women, Misseldine knew that there was one issue that women struggled with most when it came to bras: the underwire.
“Over the years, women’s bodies have changed – they’ve got bigger, curvier and fuller. But the underwire hasn’t changed,” says Misseldine, explaining that the horseshoe shape of the typical underwire often cuts into women’s breast tissue.
Women's bodies have changed, but the underwire hasn't.
So, in November 2020, Misseldine and her husband, Dale, launched No.1 Bra London, a lingerie brand aimed at offering a better-fitting, more comfortable bra.
The brand quickly sold out of some of its most popular styles, and has since sold thousands of bras. This month No. 1 Bra London also features in Clearpay’s ‘Make It Your Way’ campaign, celebrating small business owners who are carving their own path and achieving success in a fresh and original way.
Make it comfortable
Misseldine started out in the lingerie industry when she was just 18, working for British lingerie queen Janet Reger, before going on to design for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Marks & Spencer.
In that time, Misseldine has seen women “with bruise marks, sores and cuts” from the tip of the underwire, she says.
We wanted to solve a problem.
When she and her husband, who has also worked in the lingerie industry for decades, decided to launch their own business, they were determined to do things differently. “We wanted to solve a problem,” says Misseldine, who eventually came up with the design for an underwire that curved away from the body and proved to be more comfortable. “We also added a panel along the top which acts as a support for that [back] area.”
Make it fit
The pair sought patents for their designs before launching No1. Bra London in 2020 – and were thrilled with the response. “We had no idea we would sell out within three months… and the reviews have been incredible.
We had no idea we would sell out within three months.
Misseldine admits that launching a business has been a steep learning curve. Early on, she realised that many women didn’t know their exact bra size – and to combat return rates, the brand began offering 10-minute fitting phone calls to help women identify the best-fitting size.
Make it customer-first
This customer-first approach is important to Misseldine, who chose to partner with Clearpay as a way to make her products more accessible to women.
“Clearpay gives women the opportunity to spread the cost, so they can afford a good bra for themselves and also spend money on their families.”
Make it fulfilling
She admits that launching a business has involved plenty of late nights and long hours – and that work-life balance remains a distant possibility. “Dale and I will be cooking dinner and we’ll be talking about bra elastic!”
However, Misseldine says that the challenges of running a business are worth it.
“The biggest driver for me is getting bras on women and seeing the emotional change [that comes over them]. They look taller, they look slimmer. When I see these ladies wearing our bras, I have a huge feeling of achievement.”
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